The Pidge Perspective
by Crimson Fox4
Summary: Pidge loves her family, so what is she supposed to do when half of her family disappears in space? She's determined to find out the truth behind the ill-fated Kerberos Mission no matter the cost. She's willing to go anywhere, do anything, be anyone, just to find her family. Joining a rag-tag team as "Defenders of the Universe"? Pidge is game for that too. Anything for her family.
1. Pre-Kerberos Part 1

_Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I've posted anything on this site, but I've just been enjoying Voltron: Legendary Defender too much to NOT write anything._

 _This story is going to start pre-Kerberos and then continue on with the show's main plot line and stay pretty much canon-compliant. Think of it as the written version of the show from Pidge's POV with additional content /story arcs._

 _Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 **THE PIDGE PERSPECTIVE**

Chapter 1

"We're almost there, Katie." I turned my face away from the desert outside the window and looked over at my mom.

"I know." I smiled at my mom when she glanced over at me before I focused on the road ahead of us and the looming shape of military buildings in the distance

My dad has worked for the Galaxy Garrison for as long as I remember, and it feels like my family has driven along this road thousands of times. It's gotten to the point of familiarity that Matt and I both noticed a week ago that a particularly old cactus near the road had finally fallen over. We had a running bet as to whether it would stay standing until Matt and Dad left for Kerberos, but Matt was forced to admit defeat. He never admitted to it, but I think he was secretly hoping for the shuttle's launch to shake the desert surrounding the Garrison to the point of tipping the poor cactus over.

My mom slowed down the car as we approached the military base and came to a stop at the security gate. She handed an ID card to the officer on guard duty who double checked the card before scanning it. As the guard handed the card back through the window, a buzzing sound came from the gate as it swung open. Mom eased the car forwards through the security checkpoint and onto Galaxy Garrison property.

In the distance, I could see the Kerberos shuttle standing proud against a cloudless sky. I pressed my face against the passenger window to try and get a better look at the sleek spaceship, ignoring my mother's amused chuckling.

We parked on the airfield tarmac a few hundred metres from the launch pad, but I pried my eyes away from the shuttle as my mom told me, "Look, there's Matt and your father! Don't they look so official an important in their uniforms?"

"I guess so, but you've seen Matt in his cadet uniform plenty of times, Mom." I reminded her.

She chuckled again and informed me, "Katie, one day you will realize that there's nothing quite so dashing as a man in uniform."

"Ugh, _Mom_." I groaned. I shot her a look over my shoulder and stated, "Matt is a dork, and that orange and white menace of a uniform just accentuates his dorkiness." At my mom's raised eyebrow, I insisted, "It's true."

"Well, how about observing a different specimen than your brother to see if my theory is correct? Look, their hotshot pilot straight out of flight school is with them in uniform too."

Rolling my eyes, I turned to look out the window and focused on the group of men on the tarmac. My gaze passed over my brother and his orange uniform before landing on the two men in gray uniforms. I quickly noticed my dad's enthusiastic gesturing that only happens when he's excited about something, and realized he was talking to the pilot. My eyes moved on from my dad and froze.

Matt had told me about the prodigious pilot before, that he was a year ahead of Matt at the Garrison and had recently been promoted in order to fly the Kerberos mission. What Matt _hadn't_ told me was that Takashi Shirogane was a _looker_. Mom's theory about uniformed men still floating around in my mind really wasn't helping either, especially with how well Takashi filled out his uniform compared to Matt's slight build and accompanying baggy uniform.

"See anything you like?"

"Mom!" I exclaimed and whirled around the face her.

She simply smirked at my reaction and said, "Well, let's go get your Dad, shall we? He'll have the entire mission to talk that poor boy's ear off, so we may as well hurry up and give him one last night of peace!" She opened her door and slipped out of the car before I could get a word in.

"Honestly." I muttered. I glanced out my window in time to see Takashi look behind my dad and notice our car. He pointed towards us, and I saw Matt and Dad turn around. Dad's face instantly broke into a cheesy smile as soon as his eyes landed on my mom walking towards him.

I took a quick look in the rear view mirror to make sure my face wasn't red from my mom's teasing before I got out of the car and slowly made my way towards the rest of my family. Mom had already made it to my dad, who quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. Mom extended her hand in greeting towards the young pilot, and he hesitated for only a moment before shaking her hand and beginning to exchange pleasantries with her.

Matt was standing behind our parents and grinned when he caught sight of me. He took a few steps in my direction and grabbed me in a quick hug before flawlessly transitioning into a loose headlock and a light noogie to my head. He released me with a laugh at my disgruntled expression, but quickly stopped as I punched him in the arm.

"Ow! That actually hurt this time, what's with you, Katie? Can't you just give me one last normal Holt sibling ritual before I go into space for a year?" Matt rubbed his arm I had just punched in annoyance.

"Sorry, but I'm pretty sure that was a typical sibling greeting for us. You noogie me and mess up my hair, and I punch you to get you to stop." I replied, fixing my mussed up hair out of habit.

"Yeah, well, you usually only _fake_ punching me. It felt like you meant it this time."

I returned the frown Matt sent my way and told him, "Well, I just figured it might make up for the year I won't have the chance to punch you."

"Does that mean I get to give a years' worth of noogie-hugs before I leave tomorrow?"

"That depends," I crossed my arms with a smirk forming on my lips, "How many bruises do you want to be nursing for the first week in space?"

"Jerk."

"You know you love me." I countered.

Matt rolled his eyes and threw his uninjured arm around my shoulders, "I thought siblings were required to love each other? Some unwritten rule, or something like that. Anyway, come and meet Shiro."

We walked over to where our parents were still talking with 'Shiro', as Matt called him, and heard him say, "It was really nice to meet you Mrs. Holt, but I should head home – lots to do before the big day tomorrow."

"Of course, Takashi, it was lovely to meet you after hearing all about you from my Sam and Matt."

I noticed the tips of Shiro's ears turn a slight shade of red at the praise from my mother before he turned to my father and shook his hand in farewell. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, sir. I hope you have a great night with your family."

"You as well, Shiro." My father replied as he shook Shiro's hand heartily.

Shiro smiled, and with a slight nod to my parents he took a step back before walking around them. My eyes widened as I realized Shiro was headed towards us. Matt took a step forward, and the two clasped each other's arms at the elbow in a strange short of handshake, but I could tell from the grin the two shared they had both really hit it off at some point.

"Take care, Matt."

"You too, Shiro – don't party too hard tonight."

Shiro let out a small bark of laughter as they let go of each other's arm. "I don't think you need to worry about that, Matt." They both chuckled before Shiro turned towards me and added, "And this must be the infamous Katie Holt."

Shiro was grinning good-naturedly, but I still turned to Matt and deadpanned, "Infamous?"

Matt scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "You know Dad, he likes to brag about his two genius kids, even if one is a little temperamental."

"Oh, comforting to know they're sending the crazier of the Holt siblings up in space in a fancy, pressurized metal can." Matt frowned that his jab had been deflected so easily. "What could possibly go wrong?" I taunted.

I heard a low chuckle from Shiro and realized I may have just dissed my brother in front of his teammate. Whoops.

Shiro shook his head in amusement and began to walk forwards again. As he passed by Matt, he patted his shoulder and said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Matt."

I turned my head to watch him walk away, but was surprised when Shiro raised his right hand in a wave and called back, "Nice to meet you, Katie."

I stared after him in shock for a moment too long, as Matt soon poked my cheek and stated, "You're staring, Pidgeon."

Fighting the heat rising up my neck, I whacked my brother's hand away from my cheek. I used both my arms to shove Matt towards our parents and grumbled, "Oh, just shut up, will you? Mom mentioned in the car she wanted to take photos of us all since you're in uniform and everything today, so let's just hurry up so we can go home for supper."

Matt looked back at me and grinned. "Sure, sure. You hurry up and get over here too, then." I caught up with Matt and we both walked to the base of the shuttle's launch platform where our parents were waiting for us.

While we were still out of earshot of our parents, Matt nonchalantly stated, "Y'know, I guess I forgot to tell you that all the girls in the Garrison think Shiro puts the 'hot' in 'hotshot'." Matt stopped right in front of me to look me in the eye, not quite hiding the smirk in his voice as he asked, "What do _you_ think?"

"Matt!" I ground out, moving to strangle him, but he quickly ducked out of the range of my short arms and ran the remaining distance to our parents, laughing all the way.

"You know what, at this rate I'll probably be more than happy to ship you off to space tomorrow." I muttered to myself.

* * *

 _Let me know what you think, and if I should continue on with this story! If I continue, I'm hoping to be able to post a chapter every week or so._

 _~Crimson Fox4_


	2. Pre-Kerberos Part 2

_The sarcasm and teasing from last chapter continues, because this is the Holt family that we're dealing with._

* * *

 **THE PIDGE PERSPECTIVE**

Chapter 1

Part 2

"Katie, can you come help me in the kitchen for a minute?"

"Sounds like Mom needs you, you better hurry!" Matt said from next to me. When I didn't respond to him right away, he quickly jabbed a finger into my ribs to remind me to reply.

"Just a minute, Mom!" I called as I finished the line of code I was working on. I set my laptop down on the coffee table in front of the couch Matt and I were sharing before I got up. I went to join mom in the kitchen, but then turned back to my brother, "On second thought, I'm not leaving you alone with my precious program." I quickly scooped up my computer and headed towards the kitchen.

"Oh come on, Katie!" Matt called after me. "I want to be able to listen to aliens too!"

I paused at the door of the kitchen and countered, "Of the two of us, who is going to be the most likely to encounter an alien starting tomorrow?"

"For all we know, Kerberos could be in the opposite direction of the closest alien to Earth." I raised an eyebrow in response before Matt continued, "Or maybe they walk among us! I bet there are some shape-shifting aliens that got stranded here at some point."

"Well, if you ever meet an alien, why don't you run that theory by them? Let me know what they say."

"Katie, stop teasing your brother and come help me, please!" Mom called again.

Matt crossed his arms and mimicked my raised eyebrow in a challenge to send another snipe his way while mom was still listening. I frowned and stuck my tongue out at him. He snorted before sticking out his own tongue and pulling on an eyelid to make a face at me.

"I can't believe they think you're mature enough to go into space." I muttered and turned on my heel to enter the kitchen.

"They never questioned my maturity," Matt called, "Just my age and advanced intellect!"

I rolled my eyes as I set my laptop on a safe patch of counter top. I turned to my mom and saw her stirring several pots at the stove as I asked, "What did you want my help with?"

My mom looked over her shoulder at me with a small smirk and asked quietly, "Trying to get in as much squabbling as possible before tomorrow morning?"

"I'm really just giving him the chance to enjoy some last minute, witty conversation with his lovely sister. Matt and Dad can talk for hours on end about ice samples, but I'm the one he enjoys having verbal sparring matches with."

"Of course." Mom replied with a chuckle. "That Takashi boy seemed pretty bright though, maybe he can help Matt in that department while they're in space."

"Maybe." I frowned, but quickly refocused away from the thought of someone else talking my place in Matt's life. "So, did you just want to talk to me, or…?"

"Oh!" Mom motioned to the stack of plates and utensils next to the sink. "Supper is almost ready, so could you please set the table for me?"

"Sure." I grabbed the pile of dinnerware and made my way into the dining room. I set out the four sets of plates and utensils around the table and headed back to the kitchen as I heard the oven's timer go off. I walked in to see mom trying to shoo our dog away from the oven door while simultaneously removing a casserole dish from the oven. I quickly grabbed Gunther's collar and kept him away from the oven long enough for mom to set the hot dish safely on the stovetop.

As soon as I released my hold on him, Gunther dashed towards Mom. Her famous meatloaf was not only Dad's favourite dish, but Gunther's as well, and nothing would stand in his way of getting a taste. I could still remember him accidentally burning his paws as a puppy when he jumped up on the open oven door to get closer to the source of the savoury meatloaf scent that had been driving him crazy for over an hour. Even after that mishap he had never seemed to come to the conclusion that it was in his best interest to not touch the oven door when it was hot.

I watched as Gunther paced in front of the oven, and stated, "You know, they say dogs can reflect their owner's personality."

"Is that so?" Mom replied as she moved on to preparing mashed potatoes.

"Yup," I paused as Gunther let out a whine and sat down to take up a guard position as he waited for the food to move again. "The thing I don't understand is that everyone in our house is, well, pretty smart. So, why hasn't Gunther learned from his mistakes to stay away from things he knows will hurt him, like the hot oven?"

"He's a dog, dear. I think there's only so much you can do when food is present and his stomach takes the place of his brain."

"But, still. He ought to know better, don't you think?"

"Well, maybe he has caught on to some of our personality traits, but doesn't apply them in the way you hoped." My mom offered in response before asking, "Could you please get the butter and milk for me?"

I moved towards the fridge to grab the ingredients she needed. "So, what sort of traits do you think he's picked up, Mom?"

"That could explain him ignoring hot surfaces in his quest for meatloaf?" Mom looked up from the pot of potatoes when she heard me set the milk and butter on the counter. "Thanks, Katie."

"You're welcome, and yes. Please explain." It was when I caught my mom smirking that I knew I had fallen into her trap.

"Well, maybe he picked up the determination and persistence you have when you're chasing after something you love, like that computer program you've been working on for months just so you can listen to _aliens_."

"Hey, aliens are totally real!" I defended.

"I don't doubt it, but we both know what you've _really_ been trying to do lately is figure out a way to communicate with or listen in on the Kerberos mission."

Mom sent me a sly look that caused me to cross my arms and huff, "That's not what it's for."

"But you were planning on repurposing it, yes?"

"…yes." I admitted with a pout.

Mom nodded in acknowledgement as she continued, "Or maybe Gunther has just picked up on your brother's tendency to be a little clumsy at times?" I sent my mom a disbelieving look that had her correcting herself, "Okay, so maybe it's more than a little – how about slightly clumsy?"

"That's like saying Shiro is only slightly handsome." I countered.

"I knew it!" Mom exclaimed. I quickly clasped a hand over my mouth upon realizing what had just slipped past my lips. I glanced over at mom and saw the triumphant gleam in her eyes when she asked, "It was the uniform, wasn't it?"

"Mom." I deadpanned, willing the teasing to end before it truly began.

"I knew you'd come around to the idea. I mean, a man in uniform can just be so irresistible at times-"

" _Mooommmmm."_ I cut her off with a groan, not wanting to hear any more details about her apparent uniform fetish that had unfortunately come to light.

Mom barely broke stride after my interruption and looked at me expectantly, "How does it feel to be in love?"

"M-mom!" I sputtered, "Why would you even – no! No."

"Not even a little bit?" She insisted.

I shook my head vehemently. "Nope, not even a little bit. Still a huge N-O from me! I mean, gosh! Can't I think someone is handsome without having romantic feelings for them? Besides, I only just me the guy, what, two hours ago?"

Mom grinned and informed me, "Love knows no bounds, least of all time." She most have noticed my eye begin to twitch in disbelief, as she added, "Speaking of time, how about you go let the boys know that supper's ready before it gets cold."

"Yeah, sure. I'll go do that." I made a beeline out of the kitchen as I thought, _'Anything to end this curveball of a conversation!'_

"Thanks, Katie! We'll have to continue our chat later!" My mom's cheery laughter followed me down the hall as a sense of foreboding seemed to creep up on me.

' _It seems I made the mistake of forgetting that mom was my original example when it came to teasing and sarcasm. Man, I hope she's not being serious about Shiro – I can only handle so much unfounded teasing in one day. Matt was bad enough earlier at the Garrison, and now mom is joining in too?'_ I pushed away my thoughts when I realized that Matt was no longer in the living room, and felt an overwhelming wave of thankfulness wash over me. _'At least Matt wasn't around to overhear my conversation with Mom – I really wouldn't hear the end of it, then!'_

* * *

 _To be honest, that whole conversation between Katie and her mom was not planned whatsoever and just happened to appear while I was writing... Oh well, Colleen Holt hasn't had a lot of screen time in the show - she can enjoy the spotlight here from time to time!_

 _Feel free to let me know what you thought, or if you have any suggestions!_

 _~Crimson Fox4_


	3. Pre-Kerberos Part 3

_Here's the next chapter of the Holt family's shenanigans!_

* * *

 **THE PIDGE PERSPECTIVE**

Chapter 1

Part 3

It didn't take much convincing to get Matt to head towards the dining room for supper, but my dad was an entirely different story. Even though the house was filled with the scent of all of his and Matt's favourite foods, Dad was nowhere in sight. He wasn't in the living room, his office, or his bedroom.

I stood on the upstairs landing scratching my head while I tried to figure out where he could be. It wasn't like him to miss a meal. _'Unless he's caught up in a project, but what would he be working on the night before a mission to space?'_ My train of thought led me to one conclusion. _'I've got to go check the workshop!'_

With a quick jump onto the wooden banister, I slid down the stairs and jumped off before I crash landed on the main floor. I used the momentum to race down the hallway in the opposite direction of the dining room. Once I made it to the back door of our home I threw on a pair of shoes and headed out the door to the garage in our backyard that housed my dad's workshop.

I was relieved to see that the lights inside were on, meaning my dad _had_ to be in there, but I was still confused as to what he was up to. Why risk incurring Mom's wrath by being late to our last family dinner before he headed off to space? Or did he think she would be more lenient because she wouldn't be seeing him for a while?

With a shrug, I walked across the backyard and went to open the workshop door, but what I saw through the window caused me to pause. Dad wasn't at his workbench, he was over near the area that Matt and I use whenever we want to tinker with something, but not get in the way of his work.

The old door creaked like clockwork, even though I had tried to open it slowly to avoid startling my dad. He merely glanced over his shoulder at the noise, a small smile on his face when he saw it was me. "If you're here Katie, that must mean I'm about to be late for dinner?"

"What, I can't just walk into the workshop at suppertime?" I joked.

"Well sure, but you normally dress a little differently when you're here to work and not fetch me for your mother."

I glanced down at the purple dress I was still wearing from our 'impromptu' family photoshoot at the Garrison Launchpad earlier that afternoon. "I suppose not," I replied with a noncommittal shrug. "But what about you, Dad? Do you normally come out here in your uniform?"

My father chuckled. "No, I suppose I don't." He motioned for me to join him with a wave of his hand. I stepped away from the door and maneuvered my way around the large worktable in the centre of the garage to join him. My eyebrows knit together in confusion as I realized what Dad had been looking at.

"How come you're over here looking at the project Matt and I have been working on? I figured you'd be out here fiddling with one of your own devices." I asked.

Dad glanced up at me from where he was seated on a stool and gave his own shrug. "Is a father not allowed to bask in the genius of his children from time to time?"

I let out a snort. "We both know this piece of machinery still has a ways to go before it becomes the crowning achievement of our combined genius."

Dad let out a small laugh of his own. "Perhaps, but there's something to be said about patience and persistence when it comes to solving a problem."

"I think we both know I'm good at being persistent, but not patient. This thing has so many bugs to work out. And, I mean, Matt and I haven't even finished all of the wiring yet, but he's also pretty lousy at soldering but still insists on not letting me do it. And then there's the prototype we worked on last summer that almost set the workshop on fire, and-"

"Katie." I looked down at my dad after he cut off my rambling list of problems. He gave me a gentle smile as he looked me in the eye and said, "If you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great."

We looked at each other a moment longer before I broke eye contact and looked down at the half-finished project with a nod. "Right, sorry. There's just still so much to work out, and it feels like it's going to take even longer to finish without you and Matt here to help me."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dad's smile soften. He stood up and pulled me into a quick, tight hug before turning me around to face the door. "I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out just fine without us Katie, you'll see. Right now, though, we should really get to dinner before your mom has to come out and get us, no one would enjoy that."

"Ah, so you _do_ fear Mom's wrath." I murmured to myself.

"What was that, Katie?"

"Oh, nothing!" I shot a grin over my shoulder at Dad before I made my way toward the workshop door, Dad following behind me.

I paused outside as Dad locked the workshop, and I took a moment to look towards the slowly darkening sky in the east. The sun had yet to set fully, so we would have nice, natural light in our west-facing dining room for supper, but a few of the brighter stars and planets were already visible in the sky. I began searching for where Pluto would be, but was interrupted by my dad placing his hand on my shoulder.

"There will be plenty of time to look at the stars later once it's dark, Katie. Let's head inside and enjoy your mom's great meatloaf."

"Ah yes, the meatloaf. Gunther has been waiting patiently for it all afternoon, you know. Who are we to deny his chance to beg for his favourite dish?" My dad chuckled and gave my shoulder an affectionate squeeze before moved past me and headed for the house.

"Well then, we better not keep Gunther waiting for much longer."

We quickly walked through the back door and made our way into the dining room to join Mom, Matt, and Gunther for supper. I sat down in my chair across from Matt and we both exchanged an amused look as Dad eyed all of the food laid out on the table.

"Well, would you look at what we have here? There's meatloaf, salad, mashed potatoes, cheese, and bread. My, oh my dear, you really out did yourself tonight." My dad praised as he took his seat at the head of the table and his eyes roved over all of his favourite food.

Mom chuckled at his words and stated, "I just hope it's all still warm enough for you."

"I'm sure it's fine, but let's not wait any longer." Dad quickly picked up the dish closest to him and began spooning food onto his plate. We all followed suit and passed the food around the table, Gunther whining every time a dish passed over his head.

Once everyone was served we began to eat, Dad commented, "Hope you enjoy this home-cooked meal, Matt. After our launch to Kerberos tomorrow we'll be eating freeze-dried peas for the next two months!"

Matt cocked his head towards our father and replied, "Don't lie. I know you love those peas, Dad."

"It's true." Dad admitted as he used his fork to spear more food. "Those Garrison chefs really know how to genetically manufacture a _delicious_ vegetable." He looked at me with a grin on his face and his fork lifted in the air.

I smiled at first, but then my face fell. It was always hard to hear Dad and Matt talk about going off into space and leaving the rest of us behind here on Earth, but I suddenly felt a whole lot lonelier knowing that they were leaving tomorrow. I crossed my arms on the table in front of me. I was vaguely aware of Gunther to the right of me, ready to jump at any scraps I might send his way, but food was the least of my worries right now.

I let out a sigh and admitted, "I wish I was going up with you guys."

Dad continued to grin at me as he assured, "Just you wait, kiddo. Something tells me that you're going to have your own crew someday, and you're going to fly with them to worlds so far away we can't even imagine."

I sat up a little straighter in my chair at the thought and listened to my dad conclude, "I bet my bottom dollar you're going to be a part of something that makes the _whole_ universe sit up, and take notice."

I returned my dad's grin and was thankful once more for how he always seemed to have the right thing ready to cheer me up or inspire me. _'I'm definitely going to follow after them one day. There's no way anyone can keep me from outer space!'_

"Before you go out and fulfill your epic space destiny though, you might want to eat your vegetables and drink your milk – even Iwas a little on the short side as a first-year cadet when it came to the Galaxy Garrison's minimum height standards."

I frowned and turned to my brother with a glare. _'If Dad is the one who always knows how to inspire me, Matt is the one that feels the overwhelming need to ground me in reality.'_

"I'm sure I'll be tall enough when I enroll next year, thank you very much." I retorted.

"I'm just saying that big brain of yours won't get you far if you can't make it through all the basic physical training the Garrison's space exploration program requires." Matt explained before teasing, "You should stop feeding Gunther all your salad."

"It's not my fault he likes salad and green vegetables more than I do."

"Aren't dogs supposed to be colour blind?" Matt raised an eyebrow, seemingly sure of his victory.

"So?" I pointed my fork at Matt. "He can _taste_ if it's green. I mean, he loves broccoli even though it's like putting a little bush in your mouth!" I shuddered at the thought.

Matt snorted. "Think what you may, but I meant what I said about feeding him all of your salad, tonight especially."

"But, I haven't even given him any-" That's when I heard it – the distinct sound of the dog munching and crunching right beneath my noise. "Gah!" I exclaimed as Gunther continued to eat the salad off my plate, sneaking his mouth ever closer to his prized slice of meatloaf.

"Gunther!" My mom scolded.

I snatched my plate away from Gunther and stood with it over my head, unsure whether to direct my glare at the dog or at my older brother cackling away from across the table.

As if sensing I was about to explode at Matt, Gunther, or both, my dad reached across the table to give my dress a slight tug to grab my attention. I glanced at him as he instructed, "Katie, why don't you take your plate to the kitchen and get a new one? There's plenty of leftover food." Turning to Matt, he added, "Since you didn't see the need to intervene sooner, how about you take care of putting Gunther outside?"

Matt glanced between me and Dad before standing up with a dramatic sigh of defeat. "Fine, I'll try to tear the beast away from his beloved meatloaf. But, it was still totally worth it." He shot one last mischievous grin my way before walking around the table to try to physically drag Gunther out of the dining room.

Of course Gunther resisted to the point where Matt could only move him inch by inch as he dug his claws into the plush carpet. With a roll of my eyes at the struggle playing out before me, I walked past Matt and teased, "I can _totally_ see how all that tough, physical exercise has paid off, do they call you Matt the Muscleman?" At Matt's non-committal grunt I antagonized him a little further, "Or maybe they should still call you Matchstick Matt?"

Matt snapped to attention and jabbed a finger in my direction and exclaimed, "That was _one_ time, on my _first_ day! No one has called me that since!"

"Sure, sure." I responded and waved my hand dismissively.

Matt glowered and returned to his task with new fervor, but Gunther seemed to have caught a second wind as well. I glanced behind Matt to see Dad was back to eating his meal contentedly, although there was a slight smirk present on his lips as he chewed the spoonful of potatoes in his mouth. On the other hand, Mom was shaking her head and called out to us, "Just use the meatloaf on Katie's slobber-contaminated plate to lure him outside, already! We all know he won't leave willingly until he gets some."

Gunther's eyes immediately locked onto my plate before he looked up expectantly at me, and then at Matt.

I let out a laugh as I picked up the slice of meatloaf from my plate and tossed it in the general direction of Matt and the dog. Matt let out a yelp and stumbled back as Gunther lunged forwards to catch his meatloaf-prey in midair. He swallowed it whole and then happily trotted towards the back door with a dazed Matt in tow.

"You know what, mom?" I asked once my laughter was under control. "Maybe Gunther is smarter than I gave him credit for."

* * *

 _I hope you all enjoyed the new chapter! Also, for those of you wanting to have Shiro in the picture again, do not fret! He'll return within the next chapter or two!_

 _Until next time,_

 _~Crimson Fox4_


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